Crater Lake, Oregon vacation property build thread - BASE CAMP ⛺️ (6 Viewers)

[Hojack]

After a few years of looking at property it finally happened and closed today. An acre of land in the pine forested valley east of Crater Lake, Oregon. The bare acre lot was listed at $7,000. I took a trip down to actually look at a couple other lots. I decided since I drove almost 4 hours I should look them all over. The property looked like the others but I saw a familiar object in the distance. As I got closer I saw a water well. I looked on the lot description and it mentioned no well. It also had a 4” pvc conduit ran in from the nearest power pole. Thinking I walked onto the wrong lot I walked back out to the street. The realty sign was there??? Confused as there are no addresses here I continued to walk around. The state of Oregon requires wells to have an ID tag. This shows who drilled the well and how it was constructed. We showed it was drilled in 2012 and produced over 20 gpm and was 60 feet deep.
Once I got back home I sent the well log to my realtor. She checked the tax ID on both the property for sale and the well log and they matched. Decided that it’s now or never to get a vacation property. Both of us suggested not mentioning the well. I called the well driller and talked with him. I work on wells here in northern Oregon so am very familiar with the industry.
After agreeing on $6500 I proceeded with the earnest money and final payment. Well it closed today and I have a mountain retreat at 4600’ in the snowbelt country east of Crater Lake National Park. The region has nice dry summers and cold snowy winters. The property is mostly covered with Lodgepole Pine.
First priority is fencing the property. Next will be installing a submersible pump and manual hand pump. After the well get power to the property. Install septic system. Start a pole barn with living quarters. First few will be camp trips. Should be a lot of fun in my FJ60 Landcruiser Snowball.

If your in Oregon it’s be great to get together. If not then this thread will show the progress and journey ahead. This place is gonna be a lot of fun.

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[Dunbar]

Wow. You are going to build lifelong memories that your kids will remember decades from now.

 

[SkiLyft]

This is great — can’t wait for Cruiser meet ups!

 

[Hojack]

This is great — can’t wait for Cruiser meet ups!

That’s the idea. Great recreational area and affordable. There are other lots available and they come up for sale pretty regularly so perhaps others might bag some property. My buddy Travis got a bare one acre lot. He’s down the same road as me about 700’. Really looking forward to the building part of the thread.
It will be a nice base camp. My buddy James and I have been wanting to do a winter trip around Crater Lake, perhaps you could join us. I have AT skis and skins and he was planning with snowshoes.

 

[ferg]

You should keep aware of any adjacent lots that come up for sale. Keep your RE agent on the hook for you.

 

[Hojack]

I’ve been talking to the county this week. The county doesn’t allow any building until a septic system is approved and installed. The septic evaluation and permit isn’t cheap, possibly $2400. I hope to offset this cost by installing it myself. I need to dig test holes for the evaluation so the county can see what kind of system they will allow. A good friend of mine Rob is the manager for HD Fowler in Redmond, Oregon and said I could get his employee discount. This should help keep my cost down as well as having the trackhoe and work that I love. I’d like to get started on fencing the property as soon as possible too. After the septic is installed then building can start and electrical service can be installed. It’s going to be awesome. All aspects of work that I really enjoy. This should be a lot of fun and a great place to get away from it all.

 

[snobdds]

I'm stoked for you. I have done what you are about to embark on, with a lot of similarities. It will consume you once you get into the build. It's a lot of work, but the payoff is great. There is nothing better than being out all day riding or working and then come in, take a shower, pop a beer, cook a nice meal...while sitting on your porch in the Forrest. It's livin...

Unsolicited advice...

Get some equipment. It can be old iron, but get something that can dig and lift.
Clear plenty land to facilitate building and later on parking or open space. Building requires staging a lot of material and things. Plus the big one, fire mitigation.
Patience. I'm on year 10 and I'm almost ready to start finishing the interior. The first 5 years was just dealing with trees and rough grade.
Design the place to deal with snow. Raise the building off the ground and have 16"+ overhangs, gable ends too. Put some pitch on the roof, 9/12+.

But most importantly, enjoy it. Your kids will love it.

 

[Hojack]

I’ve got a well armed supply of equipment available to get the job done.

Massey Ferguson tractor

Stihl concrete saw

Kubota Mini excavator

Stihl chainsaw

12,000 pound pump hoist

 

[1911]

I’ve been talking to the county this week. The county doesn’t allow any building until a septic system is approved and installed. The septic evaluation and permit isn’t cheap, possibly $2400. I hope to offset this cost by installing it myself. I need to dig test holes for the evaluation so the county can see what kind of system they will allow. A good friend of mine Rob is the manager for HD Fowler in Redmond, Oregon and said I could get his employee discount. This should help keep my cost down as well as having the trackhoe and work that I love. I’d like to get started on fencing the property as soon as possible too. After the septic is installed then building can start and electrical service can be installed. It’s going to be awesome. All aspects of work that I really enjoy. This should be a lot of fun and a great place to get away from it all.

The test holes are to see if your soil is permeable enough for a conventional leach-field septic system, but before you go down that road, check your county's regulation on how far apart the septic system has to be from the water well. You may not have enough room with a 1-acre lot. You can always put in an aerobic system as a last resort, and you shouldn't have to test the soil for one of those.

 

[bkfj40]

that's a beautiful area - we stopped in there while visiting some friends in Bend and then went down into california...

congrats!

 

[Hojack]

The test holes are to see if your soil is permeable enough for a conventional leach-field septic system, but before you go down that road, check your county's regulation on how far apart the septic system has to be from the water well. You may not have enough room with a 1-acre lot. You can always put in an aerobic system as a last resort, and you shouldn't have to test the soil for one of those.

I know all about the test holes. Have family friends who do septic for a living.

 

[snobdds]

I’ve got a well armed supply of equipment available to get the job done.
View attachment 2087261
Massey Ferguson tractor
View attachment 2087262
Stihl concrete saw
View attachment 2087263
Kubota Mini excavator
View attachment 2087265
Stihl chainsaw
View attachment 2087271
12,000 pound pump hoist

The similarities are amazing. I too have a massey ferguson TLB and a mini ex, but mine is a CAT. Have all the Stihls and other stuff, if you were closer, I would let you use my Towable wood Chipper. You got this...

 

[Hojack]

The similarities are amazing. I too have a massey ferguson TLB and a mini ex, but mine is a CAT. Have all the Stihls and other stuff, if you were closer, I would let you use my Towable wood Chipper. You got this...

I have a BearCat PTO wood chipper for my tractor

 

[snobdds]

Bearcat myself...

 

[Hojack]

It’ll be nice to have this thread and show progress. Really encourages me.

 

[snobdds]

My sassy massey...my dad on it.

My Cat

And what you will eventually get too...

 

[Hojack]

My buddy Matt came over and dropped off a boiler he got from a customer. It’ll be great for providing radiant floor heat.

 

[Hojack]

Our family runs a water well business in Oregon. I’ve worked for countless Forest Service campgrounds. Most here in Oregon have manual handpumps which became a fascination growing up. When I got my own house with a well I decided to see if I could put a handpump cylinder down the same well as my submersible pump. I got both setup now on my well. Since then I have been installing them also for residential customers. There’s not a lot of room in a 6” diameter hole and some wells it simply won’t work.

When I do get a old handpump if it’s in decent condition I put it in the bone yard.

Everything was good on this pumpstand. Just needed some cleaning up and some parts.

Gathering all the parts for a complete pump

Used a wire brush on my drill to make quick work cleaning off the old rus

Rebuilt and complete pumpstand.
Headed down to the CL property Friday to install with a submersible in the well.

 

[Ol Yeller]

How deep can you hand pump? I ended up doing a genset to keep water flowing when the power is out...but for a cabin hand pump would be great!

 

[Hojack]

Deepest I have set a pump cylinder is 210’ at Frog Lake Campground near Mt. Hood, Oregon. The static water level when the snow melts is around 40-50’ depending on the snow year. By the end of the summer it’s dropped to over 200’. I can still pump water at 200’ but it’s not easy. I reduced the pipe size from
1-1/4” to 1” so it is easier to pump but you don’t get as much water per stroke. This is the deepest I would go.